In this exercise, you will work with partners to find four original sources online to describe your selected "media topic." These topics range from popular websites to celebrities to common issues teens face online.
For each source you find, you should list all of the following on an index card:
The keyword search phrase and operators you used to find your website. You may want to use the "source:" operator (described below in Important Definitions) to refine your search.
The full URL of the site you found.
The author of the essay, article, post, or video.
A "pull quote" taken directly from the source.
A one-sentence summary of the information, opinion, or argument in your source.
Provide one of each of the following types of sources:
One article from a major newspaper (e.g. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, etc.).
One cited source from a Wikipedia article.
One post or article from a country outside the United States.
Any website of your choice, as long as you can identify the author and how you found the page.
PART TWO: PRESENTING YOUR RESULTS
(30 MINUTES)
When you have done your research, work with your team to put together a five-slide Powerpoint presentation. Each slide should only include one or two images you find online (you can use Google Image Search or take images from your original sources) and a MAXIMUM of 140 characters (or "one tweet") of text. No transitions, animations, or sound effects allowed.
The first slide will present the "so what" of your subject -- what's important about learning more about your subject? The following four slides will contain a relevant fact from your source. Remember that your purpose is to INFORM the rest of the group about your media subject.
You will present your subject along with your group and we will create a screencast -- a recording of your computer screen with simultaneous voiceover -- to capture your work.
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
KEYWORDS: Your keywords are the words and phrases you enter into a search engine (like Google, Bing, or Yahoo!). Using different keywords or search engines will often lead to different results -- be specific!
URL: The URL is the entire web address of the site you're on. For instance, though your source might be The New York Times, your URL will be "http://nytimes.com/..." with a strand of identifying text after it.
Remember that in the United States, not just anyone can have an ".edu" or ".gov" at the end of an URL. The "EDU" domain means that the site is from a verified academic institution like a university. The "GOV" domain means that the site is from a verified government institution like the White House.
WORKING WITH SEARCH OPERATORS: You can specify specific parameters for Google to use when it conducts a web search, including one particular web source, news source, or country to search within.
EXAMPLE OF AN OPERATOR THAT SEARCHES WITHIN ONE WEBSITE:
If you wanted to search for a Wall Street Journal article containing the phrase "food deserts," you would copy the following text verbatim into your Google search:
Notice that there is no space between "site:" and your URL, and that the keyword search is put in quotation marks to make sure that you are not searching for "food" and "desert" individually.
The most important operator we use in this exercise is the "source:" operator. You will also need a list of country codes -- these are the parts of a URL that indicate the country of origin of the source. You can find every country code here.
EXAMPLE OF AN OPERATOR THAT SEARCHEES WITHIN ONE COUNTRY:
If you wanted to find an article from the United Kingdom about the London olympics, you might type the following text verbatim into your Google search:
site:.co.uk "London Olympic Games"
PULL QUOTE: Pull quotes are direct quotations from an article, essay, or post that are prominently displayed -- often in a large font -- to help the reader understand main ideas in the piece.
WIKIPEDIA SOURCES: Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone. However, Wikipedia has strict codes of conduct for how entries should be maintained. One important "rule" among Wikipedia editors is that every fact stated should be supported by an external source, such as a news article, government report, or other verifiable source. If you scroll to the bottom of any Wikipedia article, you will see all of the sources the authors of the entry have used.
WEB AUTHORS: Web authors are sometimes named, but often people who write on websites are not identified individually. If this is the case, look for other identifying information like a publication name, username, editor, or company.
PART ONE: THE MEDIA SCAVENGER HUNT
(15 MINUTES)In this exercise, you will work with partners to find four original sources online to describe your selected "media topic." These topics range from popular websites to celebrities to common issues teens face online.
For each source you find, you should list all of the following on an index card:
Provide one of each of the following types of sources:
PART TWO: PRESENTING YOUR RESULTS
(30 MINUTES)When you have done your research, work with your team to put together a five-slide Powerpoint presentation. Each slide should only include one or two images you find online (you can use Google Image Search or take images from your original sources) and a MAXIMUM of 140 characters (or "one tweet") of text. No transitions, animations, or sound effects allowed.
The first slide will present the "so what" of your subject -- what's important about learning more about your subject? The following four slides will contain a relevant fact from your source. Remember that your purpose is to INFORM the rest of the group about your media subject.
You will present your subject along with your group and we will create a screencast -- a recording of your computer screen with simultaneous voiceover -- to capture your work.
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
KEYWORDS: Your keywords are the words and phrases you enter into a search engine (like Google, Bing, or Yahoo!). Using different keywords or search engines will often lead to different results -- be specific!
URL: The URL is the entire web address of the site you're on. For instance, though your source might be The New York Times, your URL will be "http://nytimes.com/..." with a strand of identifying text after it.
Remember that in the United States, not just anyone can have an ".edu" or ".gov" at the end of an URL. The "EDU" domain means that the site is from a verified academic institution like a university. The "GOV" domain means that the site is from a verified government institution like the White House.
WORKING WITH SEARCH OPERATORS: You can specify specific parameters for Google to use when it conducts a web search, including one particular web source, news source, or country to search within.
EXAMPLE OF AN OPERATOR THAT SEARCHES WITHIN ONE WEBSITE:
If you wanted to search for a Wall Street Journal article containing the phrase "food deserts," you would copy the following text verbatim into your Google search:
site:http://online.wsj.com "food deserts"
Notice that there is no space between "site:" and your URL, and that the keyword search is put in quotation marks to make sure that you are not searching for "food" and "desert" individually.
The most important operator we use in this exercise is the "source:" operator. You will also need a list of country codes -- these are the parts of a URL that indicate the country of origin of the source. You can find every country code here.
EXAMPLE OF AN OPERATOR THAT SEARCHEES WITHIN ONE COUNTRY:
If you wanted to find an article from the United Kingdom about the London olympics, you might type the following text verbatim into your Google search:
site:.co.uk "London Olympic Games"
PULL QUOTE: Pull quotes are direct quotations from an article, essay, or post that are prominently displayed -- often in a large font -- to help the reader understand main ideas in the piece.
WIKIPEDIA SOURCES: Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone. However, Wikipedia has strict codes of conduct for how entries should be maintained. One important "rule" among Wikipedia editors is that every fact stated should be supported by an external source, such as a news article, government report, or other verifiable source. If you scroll to the bottom of any Wikipedia article, you will see all of the sources the authors of the entry have used.
WEB AUTHORS: Web authors are sometimes named, but often people who write on websites are not identified individually. If this is the case, look for other identifying information like a publication name, username, editor, or company.
http://mediaeducationlab.com/sites/mediaeducationlab.com/files/Hobbs%20Digital%20and%20Media%20Literacy%20Plan%20of%20Action_0.pdf